Shoprite plans debit card with Investec as banking sponsor

Source: Business Day

Shoprite customers could get a debit card and an expanded transactional account through a proposed partnership with Investec Bank.

The agreement in principle would make Investec the banking sponsor for the offering through Shoprite Financial Services. The proposed deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Under the companies’ proposed model, Shoprite would provide the customer-facing product through its brands, stores and digital channels. Investec would supply the banking infrastructure and regulatory framework behind it.

The companies say this approach, known as alliance banking, would allow Shoprite to expand its transactional offering without establishing a separate bank. It would build on a financial-services business that already includes the Money Market Account.

Shoprite Group’s 2026 integrated report puts the Money Market Account’s customer base at 4.3 million.

Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said the aim was to “expand access to simple and convenient fintech solutions that give South Africans greater choice and control over their money”.

For Investec, the proposed arrangement offers access to a broader pool of retail deposits, according to Investec Group CEO Fani Titi. He said the partnership “creates an opportunity to deepen our participation in South Africa’s evolving payments ecosystem and broaden our access to retail deposits”.

Titi said that broader deposit access would sit alongside Investec’s existing target-market focus, rather than replace it.